Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

The publishers of this directory recognize that a segment of the communities movement is concerned about multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), and so asked Susan Molloy to write this short informational piece about it. In addition, please see the extensive resource list on the following page.

Multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) affect some individuals who are unable to withstand exposure to synthetic products common to our environment. MCS can result from a specific high-level chemical exposure, for example exposure to pest control chemicals, noxious smoke, or the wrong medication. It can also result from chronic, low-level exposure to chemicals. A percentage of the population is susceptible to MCS because of inborn genetic traits.

The diagnosis of MCS is still problematic within the medical and insurance industries for a number of reasons: MCS affects multiple organ systems; symptoms vary in type and severity from person to person; the precipitating toxic exposure cannot always be identified; and there is not yet a common, simple diagnostic protocol designed for profitable use by conventional physicians. As is the case with many autoimmune illnesses, women are somewhat more commonly affected than are men. Symptoms affect the brain, nervous system, and inflammatory processes, impairing endocrine, digestive, and respiratory function. Raging allergic-type reactions to formerly tolerated foods and natural substances are commonly triggered. People with MCS commonly have painful reactions to various electromagnetic and radio fields as well.

MCS symptoms range from annoying to extremely debilitating. If exposures cannot be controlled or avoided, for people with acute MCS the result is disability to the point of isolation and dependence on others for daily care. There exist no homeless or women’s shelters, no nursing homes, no convalescent hospitals, and no accessible apartments in clean air that were constructed and maintained for people whose primary effective means of pain management is avoidance of modern synthetic products. So, people with MCS fortify their own homes themselves or find new places to live as best they can to meet their needs. It usually means a drastic lifestyle change. Contact with other people with MCS is a vital affirmation for many, and there are long distance communities of MCS people, linked by telephone, email, and support-group newsletters.

Once someone has MCS it is typically a lifelong disorder, but careful, diligent progress can lessen the severity. There are now helpful replacement products used by some people with MCS in lessening the effects within their own homes: fragrance-, chlorine-, and phenol-free cleaning and personal care products; organic or pressure-cooked cotton or silk clothing; and furniture of steel or even organic wood. Some people benefit from room or car air filters or charcoal-filled masks, and from use of some brands of industrial or military respirators to withstand brief exposures. Some therapies are designed to halt the current poisoning and rebuild the body’s ability to process ‘ordinary’ exposure to chemicals on its own. One is a program of vitamins, exercise, and saunas, although results vary. This treatment helps some people with MCS but can be very detrimental to others, so proceed cautiously, and only under careful supervision. The only surefire ‘therapy,’ for now, is identification of trigger exposures by each person, to clarify what materials, foods, electromagnetic fields, noises, or other stimuli must be minimized in their environment.

The number of people with MCS is growing, and public awareness is rising. The Chemical Manufacturers Association, pest control applicators, cosmetic companies, and Department of Defense wish people with MCS would ‘stop it’ or at least be quiet, but this is impossible as the sensitized population inevitably grows more numerous. Exposure to synthetic chemical products, and coping with the disabling conditions caused by the exposures, are inescapable in the public, commercial, and military life of modern culture.

Chemical Sensitivities Disorders Association (CSDA). ‘CSDA was established to provide information and support to chemically sensitive people; to disseminate information to physicians, scientists and other interested persons; and to encourage research on chemical sensitivity disorders and minimizing hazards to human health.’ PO Box 24061, Arbutus MD 21227, USA. Tel: 703-560-6855.

Environmental Health Association (EHA). ‘EHA is a nonprofit volunteer organization offering support, information, and advocacy for people who have been injured by chemicals in the environment. They also make referrals to health practitioners in southern California, and to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine nationwide.’ 1800 S Robertson Blvd, Suite 380, Los Angeles CA 90035, USA. Tel: 310-837-2048. Email: [email protected]

National Coalition for the Chemically Injured (NCCI). ‘A national coalition of support groups and nonprofit service and advocacy organizations that address the needs of people with chemical sensitivity disorders. NCCI’s mission is to promote and facilitate efforts among these organizations to educate the public, media, elected officials, and medical professionals about the need for greater recognition, treatment, accommodation, research, and prevention of chemical injury and chemical sensitivity disorders, especially Multiple Chemicicl Sensitivity (MCS).’ 2400 Virginia Ave NW, Suite C-501, Washington DC 20037, USA. Tel: 301-897-9614; 703-533-7864; 941-756-1606; 847-746-7792. http://ncchem.com/ncci.htm/

Rural Disabled Assistance Foundation, Inc. (RDAF). ‘RDAF is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, all-volunteer organization endeavoring to assist individuals who: (1) are seriously disabled and unable to work as determined by the Social Security Administration (other determination as needed); (2) receive very low (poverty-level) government income (or less); (3) live outside the city because their medical conditions are exacerbated by urban environmental pollution; (4) have used all other allowable financial resources available; and (5) have basic living expenses that still exceed their incomes.’ 1647 E Prince Rd, Tucson AZ 85719, USA. Tel: 520-795-3150. Email: [email protected]

Safe Schools. ‘Irene Wilkenfeld, president, is a former high school teacher who was chemically injured in a contaminated classroom, and now works as an environmental health consultant to school districts.’ 205 Paddington Dr, Lafayette LA 70508, USA. Tel: 318-984-2766, fax: 318-984-3342. http://www.head-gear.com/SafeSchools/

Molloy, Susan. ‘Best of the Reactor.’ A compilation culled from 11 years of the ‘Reactor’ newsletter, of the best articles, bills, legislation, political efforts, and treatment protocols. Available as spiral bound or on disk, from the Environmental Health Network of California, PO Box 1155, Larkspur CA 94977, USA. Tel: 415-541-5075.

Author bio:
Susan Molloy lives in the high desert east of Snowflake, Ari-zona, in a community of 10 households built by and for people with chemical- and electromagnetic-fieldÐtriggered disabilities. This remote, overgrazed former ranch land is affordable enough that each household secures between 20 and 80 acres, a barrier of space for protection from careless or casual use of common chemicals by ‘normal’ people. She has a master’s degree in Disability Policy from the Department of Public Administration, San Francisco State University, and works on state and national disability advocacy issues. Email her at [email protected]

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